The present invention is directed toward a compact heat sink configured to cool a laser diode.
Optical amplifiers are frequently provided in communication systems for boosting the power of attenuated optical signals. One type of optical amplifier includes an optical fiber doped with erbium, which is xe2x80x9cpumpedxe2x80x9d with light at a selected wavelength, e.g., 980 nm and/or 1480 nm, to provide amplification or gain at the optical signal wavelength. A semiconductor laser often supplies the pump light to the erbium-doped fiber via an optical coupler.
In order to impart sufficient gain to optical signals input to the optical amplifier, semiconductor pump lasers usually output pump light at relatively high power. Accordingly, a high level of current is supplied to the laser to achieve the requisite level of pump light intensity, which, in turn causes the laser to generate a significant amount of heat. When the temperature of the pump laser changes, the wavelength of light emitted by the laser can change as well. Moreover, if the pump laser is housed within relatively close proximity to other temperature-sensitive optical and electrical components, which is often the case, heat generated by the pump laser can affect the performance of these additional components. While a conventional heat sink including, for example, a copper block, may effectively dissipate heat generated by the pump laser, the space occupied by such a heat sink can be excessive.
Consistent with the present invention, a compact heat sink is provided for effectively cooling a laser diode. The heat sink is particularly suitable for cooling a semiconductor pump laser diode.